Amy S Farris
I have worked primarily on calculating shoreline position on sandy coasts, usually from lidar data
Biography
Master's in Physical Oceanography from URI (1995)
Bachelor's in Physics from Denison University (1992)
Science and Products
Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS)
Computer Software for Calculating Shoreline Change (or positional change of a boundary over time)
The Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) v5.0 software is an add-in to Esri ArcGIS desktop 10.4-10.6 that enables a user to calculate rate-of-change statistics from multiple historical shoreline positions. It provides an automated method for establishing...
USGS National Shoreline Change: A GIS compilation of Updated Vector Shorelines (1800s - 2010s) and Associated Shoreline Change Data for the Georgia and Florida Coasts
Shoreline positions were compiled prior to and following Hurricane Irma along the sandy shorelines of the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coasts of Florida and the coast of Georgia. Shoreline positions from the mid-1800s through 2018 were used to update the shoreline change rates for Florida and Georgia using the Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) software.
Preliminary estimates of forecasted shoreline positions and associated uncertainties for Florida and Georgia
During Hurricane Irma, Florida and Georgia experienced substantial impacts to beaches, dunes, barrier islands, and coral reefs. Extensive erosion and coral losses from hurricanes result in increased vulnerability of coastal regions, including densely populated areas. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Coastal and Marine Hazards Resources Program is working to assess shoreline erosion.
Massachusetts Shoreline Change Project: A GIS Compilation of Vector Shorelines (1844-2018)
This updated dataset strengthens the understanding of shoreline position change in Massachusetts. It includes U.S. Geological Survey vector shorelines edited for quality control from the mid-1800s to 1989, 1994, 2001, 2007–9, and 2010–14; and one new shoreline from 2018.
Massachusetts Shoreline Change Project, 2021 Update: A GIS Compilation of Shoreline Change Rates Calculated Using Digital Shoreline Analysis System Version 5.1, With Supplementary Intersects and Baselines for Massachusetts
This 2021 data release includes rates that incorporate one new shoreline extracted from 2018 lidar data collected by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Joint Airborne Lidar Bathymetry Technical Center of Expertise , added to the existing database of all historical shorelines (1844-2014), for the North Shore, South Shore, Cape Cod Bay, Outer Cape, Buzzard’s Bay, South Cape, and the islands.
Mean High Water Shorelines for the Outer Cape of Massachusetts from Nauset Inlet to Race Point (1998-2005)
This data release contains mean high water (MHW) shorelines for the Outer Cape of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, from Nauset Inlet to Race Point. From 1998-2005, the U.S. Geological Survey surveyed 45 kilometers of coastline 111 times using a ground-based system called Surveying Wide-Area Shorelines (SWASH). The SWASH system used a six-wheeled amphibious all-terrain vehicle as a platform
Massachusetts Shoreline Change Project, 2018 Update: A GIS Compilation of Shoreline Change Rates Calculated Using Digital Shoreline Analysis System Version 5.0, With Supplementary Intersects and Baselines for Massachusetts
rThis 2018 data release includes rates that incorporate two new mean high water (MHW) shorelines for the Massachusetts coast extracted from lidar data collected between 2010 and 2014. The first new shoreline for the State includes data from 2010 along the North Shore and South Coast from lidar data collected by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Joint Airborne Lidar Bathymetry Technical Center...
Massachusetts Shoreline Change Project: A GIS Compilation of Vector Shorelines for the 2018 update
The Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management launched the Shoreline Change Project in 1989 to identify erosion-prone areas of the coast. The shoreline position and change rate are used to inform management decisions regarding the erosion of coastal resources.
Marsh shorelines of the Massachusetts coast from 2013-14 topographic lidar data
The Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM) launched the Shoreline Change Project in 1989 to identify erosion-prone areas of the Massachusetts coast. This update included a marsh shoreline, which was defined to be the tonal difference between low- and high-marsh seen in ortho-photos. Further cooperation between CZM and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has resulted in another...
Marsh Shorelines of the Massachusetts Coast from 2013-14 Topographic Lidar Data
The Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM) launched the Shoreline Change Project in 1989 to identify erosion-prone areas of the Massachusetts coast. Seventy-six maps were produced in 1997 depicting a statistical analysis of shoreline change on ocean-facing shorelines from the mid-1800s to 1978 using multiple data sources. In 2001, a 1994 shoreline was added. More recently%...
Identifying salt marsh shorelines from remotely sensed elevation data and imagery
Salt marshes are valuable ecosystems that are vulnerable to lateral erosion, submergence, and internal disintegration due to sea-level rise, storms, and sediment deficits. Because many salt marshes are losing area in response to these factors, it is important to monitor their lateral extent at high resolution over multiple timescales. In this...
Farris, Amy S.; Defne, Zafer; Ganju, Neil Kamal
Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) version 5.0 user guide
OverviewThe Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) is a freely available software application that works within the Esri Geographic Information System (ArcGIS) software. DSAS computes rate-of-change statistics for a time series of shoreline vector data. DSAS version 5.0 (v5.0) was released in December 2018 and has been tested for compatibility...
Himmelstoss, Emily A.; Henderson, Rachel E.; Kratzmann, Meredith G.; Farris, Amy S.
Comparing methods used by the U.S. Geological Survey Coastal and Marine Geology Program for deriving shoreline position from lidar data
The U.S. Geological Survey Coastal and Marine Geology Program uses three methods to derive a datum-based, mean high water shoreline on open-ocean coasts from light detection and ranging (lidar) elevation surveys. This work compared the shorelines produced by the three methods for two different surveys: one survey with simple beach morphology, and...
Farris, Amy S.; Weber, Kathryn M.; Doran, Kara S.; List, Jeffrey H. UAS-SfM for coastal research: Geomorphic feature extraction and land cover classification from high-resolution elevation and optical imagery
The vulnerability of coastal systems to hazards such as storms and sea-level rise is typically characterized using a combination of ground and manned airborne systems that have limited spatial or temporal scales. Structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry applied to imagery acquired by unmanned aerial systems (UAS) offers a rapid and inexpensive...
Sturdivant, Emily J.; Lentz, Erika E.; Thieler, E. Robert; Farris, Amy S.; Weber, Kathryn M.; Remsen, David P.; Miner, Simon; Henderson, Rachel E. Shoreline change as a proxy for subaerial beach volume change
It is difficult and expensive to calculate changes in sediment volume for large sections of sandy beaches. Shoreline change could be a useful proxy for volume change because it can be collected quickly and relatively easily over long distances. In this paper, we summarize several studies that find a high correlation between shoreline change and...
Farris, Amy S.; List, Jeffrey H. Using topographic lidar data to delineate the North Carolina Shoreline
In North Carolina, shoreline change rates are an important component of the state's coastal management program. To enhance methods of measuring shoreline change, the NC Division of Coastal Management (DCM) is considering using mean high water (MHW) shorelines extracted from lidar data together with traditional wet/dry shorelines digitized from...
Limber, Patrick W.; List, Jeffrey H.; Warren, Jeffrey D.; Farris, Amy S.; Weber, Kathryn M. Reversing storm hotspots on sandy beaches: Spatial and temporal characteristics
Coastal erosion hotspots are defined as sections of coast that exhibit significantly higher rates of erosion than adjacent areas. This paper describes the spatial and temporal characteristics of a recently identified type of coastal erosion hotspot, which forms in response to storms on uninterrupted sandy coasts largely free from human...
List, J. H.; Farris, A.S.; Sullivan, C. Links between erosional hotspots and alongshore sediment transport
No abstract available.
Ashton, Andrew; List, Jeffrey H.; Murray, A. Brad; Farris, Amy S. Bottom currents and sediment transport in Long Island Sound: A modeling study
A high resolution (300-400 m grid spacing), process oriented modeling study was undertaken to elucidate the physical processes affecting the characteristics and distribution of sea-floor sedimentary environments in Long Island Sound. Simulations using idealized forcing and high-resolution bathymetry were performed using a three-dimensional...
Signell, R.P.; List, J. H.; Farris, A.S. Large-scale shoreline response to storms and fair weather
No abstract available.
List, Jeffrey H.; Farris, Amy S.
Digital Shoreline Analysis System
Digital Shoreline Analysis System version 5.0